Bogie for vehicles of toy and model railroads

ABSTRACT

A BOGIE FOR VEHICLES OF TOY AND MODEL RAILROADS WITH A MOVABLE COUPLING PART WHICH IS INSERTABLE INTO THE COUPLING BEARING AND WITH A SPRING FOR HOLDING THE MOVABLE COUPLING PART IN ITS CENTRAL POSITION, SAID COUPLING PART AND SAID SPRING MEMBER FORMING A SINGLE PIECE WITH THE BOGIE AND BEING MADE OF SYNTHETIC MATERIAL, WHILE THE COUPLING PART, THE COUPLING BEARING AND THE SPRING MEMBER ARE SO DESIGNED AND ARRANGED THAT THE COUPLING PART WILL SPRING INTO THE COUPLING BEARING IN RESPONSE TO THE TENSIONS OF THE SPRING MEMBER.

M. ERNST 3,609,912

BOGIE FOR VEHICLES OF TOY AND MODEL RAILROADS Get. 5, 1971 Filed July 28, 1969 IN V EN TOR. 1'17 8/ United States Patent 3,609,912 BOGIE FOR VEHICLES 0F TOY AND MODEL RAILROADS Max Ernst, 14 Lohengrinstrasse, 85 Nuremberg, Germany Filed July 28, 1969, Ser. No. 845,172 Claims priority, application Germany, Aug. 9, 1968, P 17 03 993.9 Int. Cl. A63h 19/18 US. Cl. 46-216 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bogie for vehicles of toy and model railroads with a movable coupling part which is insertable into the coupling bearing and with a spring for holding the movable coupling part in its central position, said coupling part and said spring member forming a single piece with the bogie and being made of synthetic material, while the coupling part, the coupling bearing and the spring member are so designed and arranged that the coupling part will spring into the coupling bearing in response to the tensions of the spring member.

The present invention relates to a bogie for vehicles of toy and model railroads. It is known to provide bogies for toy and model railroads with a coupling bearing, a movable coupling part insertable into the coupling hearing, and with a pressure spring for holding the movable coupling part in its respective position. With such an arrangement, the bogie, the coupling part, and the spring, consist of three separate parts while the bogie and the coupling part are preferably made of synthetic material by injection molding, whereas the spring member consists of an elastic metal part. There is furthermore provided a fourth structural member forming a cover for the coupling bearing. Consequently, the manufacture of such a coupling with its bearing is relatively awkward and expensive.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved bogie for vehicles of toy and model railroads which will overcome the above mentioned drawbacks.

It is another object of this invention to provide a bogie of the above mentioned type which will be greatly simplified in construction and consequently can be produced at considerably lower cost.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates partially as seen from the side, and partially in section, a bogie according to the invention without running axles and with a coupling part in effective position.

FIG. 2 shows the coupling part of FIG. 1 in a disengaged position.

FIG. 3 illustrates the bogie and coupling hook of FIG. 2 as seen from the top.

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the bogie according to the invention with running axles and with the coupling hook in effective position.

The bogie according to the present invention is characterized primarily in that the coupling part and the spring member form a single integral piece with the bogie and are made of synthetic material, while the coupling part, the coupling bearing, and the spring member are so designed and arranged that when tensioning the spring member, the coupling part can be caused to spring into the coupling bearing.

3,609,912 Patented Oct. 5, 1971 Referring now to the drawing in detail, the bogie 1 which represents an injection molded part, is preferably made of polypropylene and comprises a coupling hook 2 and a rearward shank 3 connected to the coupling hook 2. At the rear end of the shank 3 and in spaced relationship to each other there are at both sides provided cylindrical extensions or projections 4. The rear ward end of the shank 3 is, by means of a bar-shaped spring or tongue member 5 connected to the bogie 1 so as to form a single piece therewith. Above the spring member 5 and at a spacing approximately equaling the thickness of the shank 3, the bogie 1 has predetermined space or cutout means C defined by two extensions 6 which have their bottom side provided with rearwardly angled claw-shaped extensions 7 while therebehind there are provided downwardly extending extensions 8. As will be particularly clearly evident from FIGS. 2 and 3, bogie 1 with extensions 6, spring member 5, and coupling hook 2 with shank 3 and extensions 4 form a single injection molded part and are produced as such. In order to place the arrangement in readiness, it is only necessary to spring the two pairs of wheels into the side portions of the bogie and to spring the coupling hook (FIGS. 1 and 4) with its extensions 4 between the front extensions 7 and the rearward extensions 8. In this connection, the spring 5 which is suitably dimensioned as to length and cross section will be bent in the form of an arch toward the top and thus holds the coupling hook in its horizontal central position. For coupling and uncoupling purposes, the coupling hook 2 can be pivoted upwardly while that end of shank 3 which is connected to the spring 5 is deviated downwardly and by means of spring 5 is again returned to its central position. The lateral tiltability of the coupling hook is due to the rotatability of the bogie about its vertical axis. A pivoting of the coupling hook 2 downwardly will be prevented by the rearwardly extensions 4 of the shank 3 abutting against the extensions 6 in upward direction.

As will be evident from the above, the present invention makes it possible to produce the bogie, coupling hook and spring member in a single working step as one injection molding part. The assembly of the bogie provided with a coupling hook is effected by a single manual operation so that the cost of manufacturing of a bogie according to the invention is considerably reduced.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by no means limited to the particular construction shown in the drawing, but also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A bogie for toy and model railroads, which inincludes: extension means extending in the longitudinal direction of said bogie and forming a single integral piece therewith, said extension means being provided with cutout means, flexible resilient tongue means having one end securely connected to said bogie and forming a single integral piece with said bogie, and a coupling part integral with the bogie, comprising: hook means and a shank interposed between said coupling hook means and the other end of said tongue means, said hook means and said shank forming a single integral piece with said tongue means, said shank having integral lateral projection means for selectively engaging and disengaging said outout means for respectively holding said coupling part in its effective and ineffective position, said bogie and said extension means, and said resilient tongue means and said coupling part together forming a single integral injection molded piece.

2. A bogie according to claim 1, in which said means for selectively engaging and disengaging said cutout means are formed by two pin means spaced from each other in the longitudinal direction of said extension means, and in which said cutout means is formed by a longitudinal slot with a passage toward the outside in the direction toward said tongue means, the distance between said pin means exceeding the Width of said passage, said spacing between said pin means being slightly less than the length of said slot, the length of said tongue means considerably exceeding the longitudinal extension of said slot so that said tongue means curves and is loaded in response to said pin means being located in said slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner R. F. CUTTING, Assistant Examiner 

